For a long time, Ronald White's thoughts of a career in rap music had given way to much simpler life goals: staying alive and out of prison. Faced with two counts of first-degree murder, thoughts of life in prison and the death penalty — not rap — occupied White's imagination.

"Glory to God," says White, known by his rap moniker, Ron Ron, as he recalls the not-guilty verdict, passed down in the summer of 2007, related to the killing of two men outside a Kansas City liquor store.

God comes up a lot in conversations with White, a native of Kansas City's East Side. God has given him, he says, the talent to rap. After the trial, God gave him the clarity to see a career in music as a priority. And if the city's hip-hop elite are religious, they, too, can thank God — White is a seriously talented rapper.

The emergence of a recent YouTube video sent locals scurrying to figure out Ron Ron's identity. The video's two songs, "Hey Honey" and "Throwbacc," form a sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde version of White.